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Our joint presence with the Province of West Kent at this
year's Kent Show was a great success. The stand itself was redesigned to
deliver the message that Freemasonry is for men of all ages, including the
younger family man. Specially taken photographs were used to reinforce that
message, and the Province is very grateful to WBro Peter Floyd of Peter Floyd
Photography for donating his professional time, and to WBros Cyril Horne,
David Herron, and Bro Colin Herron and his wife and family, for being such
willing models.
On each of the three days of the show, there was a different theme, each
designed to encourage young men and their families to visit the stand, as
well as the more traditional visitor.
On the first day, Friday, a hand crafted rocking horse was on display, and
free rides were available for youngsters (although you will see from the
pictures that some slightly older children also enjoyed a ride). The horse
had been made for a Dover based charity, White Cliffs Talking Newspapers, for
them to sell to raise funds. It was purchased for £2,000 by Military Jubilee
Lodge No.2195, who then decided that it could be put to good use for another
worthy cause, and Worshipful Master WBro "Frenchy" Ball arranged for it to be
made available at the show. During the day, the Provincial Grand Master,
RWBro Michael Bailey, accompanied by RWBro Bill Bryant, Past Provincial Grand
Master of West Kent, was pleased to present the horse to the Cerebral Palsy
Care charity. Based just outside Rochester, this specialist charity operates
a Learning Centre for Disabled Children, which enables under fives with
severe learning difficulties to learn through close contact and play. Visit
www.cerebralpalsycare.co.uk for more information. The horse was a popular
attraction throughout the day, and continued to be so for the rest of the
show.
Saturday is usually the busiest day of the show, and despite lower numbers in
general due to the uncertain weather, this year was no exception. The East
Kent Teddies for Loving Care (TLC) team were invited to participate, and
participate they certainly did! The day turned into a scorcher, but
undeterred, there was a TLC team member dressed in a teddy bear suit
throughout the day, sitting in a wheelchair, heavily bandaged, and with an
intravenous drip taped to an arm. From their own pockets, the team funded a
supply of the familiar small teddy bears, hundreds of which were handed out
to toddlers who stopped to see why the big teddy was so poorly. Our stand was
very busy all day long, and many of the visitors were men younger than we
could normally expect to stop and talk us. It was especially remarkable that
many visitors wanted to offer donations to the TLC appeal. In the several
years that this writer has been involved with our presence at the Kent Show,
this was undoubtedly the most successful day to date.
On the Sunday, the "Highflight" charity (www.highflight.info)
was featured, which was supported last year by the Provincial Grand Master's
discretionary fund. Highflight gives sick and disadvantaged children an
opportunity to experience the joy of flight. WBro Stratton Richie, an East
Kent Freemason and long haul airline pilot, is Chairman of the charity, which
is also sponsored by British Airways. WBro Richie owns a Tiger Moth biplane,
and a free draw was held for a flight in it. The draw proved very popular,
with over a hundred entries on the day, again encouraging people to come and
talk to us who we would not otherwise have expected. The Tiger Moth flight
was won by a teenager from the Maidstone area, and we hope to bring you
pictures of her special day in a future edition.
A very successful three days, and once again we certainly
promoted a very positive perception of Freemasonry as part of the community,
which is always our main objective.
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